All good comments, and you have really hit at the core of the issue, or more directly, the core of many issues in forestry. There is often times a disconnect between academics and private sector, and the bigger picture of managing forests at landscape levels. Hailing from Canada where government owns much of the land, federal policies can better allow for management at larger scales; the contrasts and associated challenges here in the US are staggering. Policies are trapped between academics, with incomplete knowledge, and social goals, which vary greatly from naturalists, to hunters, to loggers, set in a framework of land ownership that works against elements of the social and academic goals. With well-defined goals and priorities, policies, academics, and concerned groups can begin to work together to achieve a common goal. We as a society need to decide how we want to interact with nature to provide for us today and in the future. Maybe a little too philosophical, but the issues are neither simple nor clear.
PS the authors do a good job on the brochure, and I think there is some very good information in there for those who want to achieve the "old-growth" characteristics in their forests, but I think it is really geared to private landowners and is not practical in a production-oriented setting. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
